Wait, does that have Peanuts? The Social Construction and Presentation of Food Allergies in Everyday Life
Alejos, Alexandra Rosalia
2012
- The connection between socializing and food influences the lives of individuals with food allergies. Using qualitative data from ethnographic observations and twenty semi-structured in depth interviews, this study examines how perceived stigma shapes how individuals understand, interpret and present their own allergy to others, and how this varies by gender. Findings indicate that food allergies ... read morerequire a delicate balance of the desire for social normalcy and asking for or demanding accommodation. Individuals develop coping strategies to maintain this balance and avoid the negative social ramifications of asking for accommodations to their food allergy. These strategies shape how they present their allergies to others, and their level of comfort in social situations where food is present. Moreover these coping mechanisms are molded by gender. Gendered perception of eating, conceptions of masculinity and femininity and gendered differences in asking for accommodation play out as individuals manage, interpret and present their allergy. People with food allergies decide whether to explicitly state their allergy and request accommodation for it or deemphasize their allergy or even hide it based on their relationship with the person or institution they are interacting with. Individuals aim to find the _��best_�� balance between attaining safe, allergen-free food and social comfort in the context of gendered expectations of what it means to refuse food or ask other people to accommodate specialized needs.read less
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- 6969zb87f
- Component ID:
- tufts:UA005.011.034.00001
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